Apparatus for the manufacture of car-wheels.



J.M.HANSEN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAR WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7, 1911.

Pamented Feb.17,1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR, %}Z-M7.LW.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH (10., WAsrjmu'roN, D. c.

J. M. HANSEN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF C AR WHEELS.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 7, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FIG. 4

FIG. 3

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

M.HANSEN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE 0]? CAR WHEELS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7, 1911.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES.

WLCAZMZM INVENTOR.

cm'rnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. HANSEN, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO FORGED STEELWHEEL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF OAR-WHEELS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN M. HANSEN, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatusfor the Manufacture of Oar-Wheels; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of forged steelcar and similar wheels. It may be considered generally animprovement inthe apparatus illustrated and set forth in Letters Patent Nos. 866,020to 866,026, granted to me September 17, 1907.

The apparatus is particularly adapted for the practice of the method setforth 1n a companion application filed of even date herewith, Serial No,653,435. as set forth in said application relates particularly toforming said wheels by two successive forging operations, and thepresent invention includes special points in the construction of diesfor the practice of said method.

.The particular points desired to be covered will be hereafter set forthand claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section of the firstoperation dies showing in dotted lines the position of the blank and thedies before the first forging stroke, and in full lines the completionof said forging stroke; Fig. 2 illustrates a method of withdrawal of theblank after the first forging operation; Fig. 3 illustrates the positionof the blank as transferred to the second forging dies and before it isoperated upon therein; Fig. 4 shows the preliminary movement of saiddies and the operation of the same upon the blank; Fig. 5 shows thecomplete forging stroke in this second operation; and Fig. 6 is a planview of the plant illustrating the preferred arrangement and location ofthe forging presses.

The general arrangement of the plant is illustrated in Fig. 6, in whichA is the primary forging press, B the final forging press, these pressesbeing set side by side, C the shearing press by which the square orother angular slab is sheared to circular form and delivered to theprimary forging press, and D the transfer crane between theSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 7, 1911.

T he, method Patented Feb. 17, 1914. Serial No. 653,434.

forging presses. The shearing press O is such as described in anapplication for patent filed by me Nov. 15, 1909, Serial No. 528,205,and it does not require detail description. The slab is delivered uponthe table 0 and fed by a pusher c operated by a suitable cylinder to theshearing press C, and the circular blank is sheared thereby from theangular slab, the circular blank being fed ata lower level over thetable 0 to the dies of the primary forging press by means of a pusheroperated by a suitable cylinder.

The forging presses may be of any suitable construction. It is necessarythat they should have great power, the presses in actual use developinga power often thousand to-ns or more. By means of suitable cylinderspower is applied to the dies hereinafter described to produce thenecessary operations of the dies and the center or piercing mandrels orplungers. The transfer crane D is located between the two presses andadapted to quickly grasp the blank as delivered from the first orprimary press and transfer it to the second or finishing press, and alsoto carry away the finished wheel from said second press. It is suspendedfrom an overhead track (Z and is provided with gripping arms cl forgripping the blanks and wheels. It is shown in full lines as taking theblank from the primary press and in dotted lines as delivering it to thefinishing press.

In the forming of these wheels practical difficulty has been found inmaintaining the dies in proper condition where the dies were formed inone piece, while it was found important to form some of the die partscontacting with the metal of special steels to resist the high heat, andto properly support such die parts. By making them of small weight andsection the special die parts could be substituted within the maincarrying parts according to the different shapes, weights and sizes ofwheels. For example in the dies of Figs. 1 and 2, above referred to asthe primary dies, it will be seen that the bottom die 1 rests on the bed2 and that resting on said bed is the bed ring 3 seated thereon by theshoulder 4, and that in the top face of the bed and within said shoulderis the annular seat 5 in which the bottom die 1 is seated, while restingon said bed and within the bottom die is the bottom hub die 6 fittingaround the central recess 8 in the bed 2 in which the plunger 9 movessaid plunger carrying the plunger head 10 working within the hub die 6.To hold the hub die to its place the bottom die 1 has the annularshoulder 7 fitting over the same. In the primary operation dies abovethe bottom die 1 is the ring die 11 fitting within the bed ring 3 whichwith said bottom die forms the bowl-shaped matrix for the primaryforging operation. The faces of the bottom hub die, bottom die and ringdie are preferably formed curved as illustrated. For example, the upperface of the bottom hub die is formed on an upward curve or incline fromits bore, as at 12, and as shown in Fig. 1 the plunger 10 is formed witha tapering upper face 13 with its top edge about on a line with the topedge of the bottom hub die, so leaving a space between the same intowhich the metal flows in the forging operation, forming on the blank adepending annular lip 14L fitting be tween the hub die and the plunger.Above the hub die the bottom die has the face 15 to form the outer face16 of the hub, and beyond that the web forming face 17 and the seat 18for the rudimentary rim 19. The ring die has a slightly flaring face 20to form the outer face of the bowl-shaped blank. In the finishin diesthe construc tion of these parts is siibstantially the same except thatthe ring die 11 is omitted as the rim forming die forms part of thereciprocating dies. For example, said finishing dies have the bed 21,the annular die holder 22, in which the bottom hub die 23 fits, thebottom hub die 24L being held in place around the central bore 25 in thesame way and the plunger 26 passing upwardly through said hub formingdie. The upwardly curved face 27 of the hub die and hub forming face 29of the bottom die are made of the same shape as in the primary dies, andthe upper part or piercing head 28 of the plunger is tapering along thesame general lines as in the primary operation dies.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the blank is forged with its annulardepending lip 14 and the bottom hub portion 30, and vhen raised by thecentral plunger from the matrix as shown in Fig. 2 it is quickly graspedby the tongs cl and carried over to the finishing dies, as shown in Fig.3, in which case the annular depending lip 1 1 and hub face 30 fit intothe parts 27 and 29 of the hub die and bottom die of the finishing dies.In this way, as shown in Fig. 8, the blank produced by the primary diesis properly centered in the finishing dies, and in position for thefinal forging step; and it is to be noted that in this forging stepafter the reciprocating dies descend and spread out the blank to impartto the web the proper shape of dish, and to forge the hub to finalshape, the piercing mandrel 26 in its upward piercing stroke firstencounters the depending annular lip 14: of the blank and by the loosetapering or conoidal end of the piercing head 28 of the plunger forcesthe metal outwardly and in sures the filling out of the lower portion ofthe hub against the face 29 of the bottom die. As it is then forcedupwardly it also causes the metal to flow upwardly against the upper hubdie 42 and shears off the extra metal against the shearing edge 13 ofsaid upper hub die.

The upper reciprocating dies both in the primary and finishing setscorrespond in some points to eachother, the main reciprocating die 35 ofthe primary die being secured to the main die head 36 and the hub die 31being held between said main die and the die held while the plunger 37is secured to the central die carrier 38 which is operated upon by theram of the cylinder of the press. It will be noted that in this diethere is the supplemental edging die 39 fitting around the upper part ofthe main die 35 and held between it and the die head. The main die 35engages with the web forming portion of the slab and forces the metalthereof'inwardly, while the outer portion of the slab contacts with thering die 11 so that the blank is bent into bowl form and this edging die39 acts upon the top edge of the bowl shaped blank so formed and forcesthe metal thereof downwardly into the annular seat or depression 18, soform.- ing the rudimentary rim portion 19 on the lower side of the webportion. The width of this edging die 39 is not as great as the spacebetween the die 35 and the inner face of the die 11 so that there is arelatively small space beyond the outer edge of the die 39 into whichthe metal enters as hereafter described.

In the finishing dies the web bending die 11 and the hub forming die 12are secured to the die carrier 40 and operated upon by the centralplunger 41-4 while the rim forming die 45 is supported in the main diehead 16, this rim forming die being in this case the main forging meansand being operated un-- der great power.

It will be noted that in the primary operation space is left between thestationary ring die 11 and the edging die 39, permitting a relativelythick body of metal to flow up into the space between the same. Thisprevents the finning of the metal at this point, as if a thin fin werehere formed it would be liable to chill quickly and be forced down intothe body of the wheel in the second forging operation. Thus in theprimary forging operation an annular thick rib 17 is formed, projectingabove the edge of the bowl shaped blank. In the finishing dies it willbe noticed that the rim forming die 45 has a recess 48 in positioncorresponding to this rib 47 on the bowl shaped blank of the firstoperation. As seen in Fig. 4 the outer. bowl portion 49 is grasped onthe inner face by the web fornnn die 41 and on the opposite side by therun forming die 45 and this die 45 engages the outer upper edge of thebowl-shaped blank and in forcing the metal down receives the upwardprojecting rib 47 in the recess 48 and in the second forging operationthis rib serves to center and hold the outer edge of the bowlshapedblank while it produces on the finished wheel rim an annular rib 50which insures the formation of an edge of solid metal free from crack orchill on the rim face and edge face of the finished wheel. This rib caneasily be removed in the subsequent turning of the wheel which is theusual practice. It will also be noticed that the rim forming die 45 hason the inner edge an annular rabbet 51. This permits the metal at theinner edge of the rim to flow up between the die 41 and the web formingdie without finning, insuring the proper forging of this edge of the rimand this surplus metal may also be removed in the turning of the wheel.It will be noted that the face 52 of the bottom die and the face 53 ofthe web bending die are of shape corresponding to the set of the web ofthe finished wheel, That is, the web portion of the slab as first forgedis at a greater incline than the dish required in the finished wheel,and as a first part of the finishing operation the die 41 descends andspreads out the bowlshaped blank so that its web portion 54 is broughtto proper finished shape of dish and the outer bowl portion 49 is forcedinto position to be grasped by the rim forming die 45. As the metal isthus held between the bottom die and the web finishing die the rimforming die descends and forms the finished rim on both sides of theweb, as above described, this operation being aided by the formation ofthe rudimentary rim portion 19 so that the liability of the metalfolding on itself at this point is overcome. One serious problem in theoperation of these dies was to remove the loose piercing heads 28 which,as above described, are forced upwardly through the hub portion of thewheel. To accomplish this I provide the central die carrier 40 with thecentral opening 40 in line with the bore 50 of the upper hub die 42, andprovide this central die carrier with the side openings 56 whichcommunicate with the transverse passage 57 in the main die head 46. Whenthe two sets of dies are in the finishing position these side transversepassages 56 and 57 are in line, and as the piercing heads 28 with thesurplus metal 55 removed by them are successively raised into line withthis passage, they can be forced laterally out by means of a bar and soejected from the machine.

By the apparatus as above described I make practicable the formation ofthese forged car wheels by two successive forging operations at the sameheat and assure the proper filling out of all the parts of the dieswhile making it practicable to operate so quickly that the metal is atthe necessary forging heat for proper finishing within the secondoperation dies. I also assure the formation of the wheels without thefolding of the metal by providing for the formation of a rudimentary rimportion be low the upper edge of the webportion, so

that liability of folding of the rim portion in the final forging stepis prevented; and I prevent the formation of thin fins in the firstforging operation which might develop folds of the metal and weak placesin the finished wheel, and by means of the dies I provide for the properdistribution of the metal in the first forging operation. I also providefor the quick and positive ejection of the blank from the firstoperation dies through the lifting thereof by the center plunger, andfor the filling out of all the parts of the hub and the shearing ofi ofthe hub metal and the final ejection of the piercing die with thesurplus metal.

' The operation of the parts has been so clearly stated above that it isnot considered necessary to repeat it.

The specific die structures illustrated in the drawings and capable ofuse in other relations are made the subject matter of a separatedivisional application, Serial No. 683,149. a r

What I claim is: p 4 1. In wheel forging apparatus, the combination ofsets of primary and finishing forging dies, respectively set side byside, each set including a stationary die, transfer means betweensaidsets of dies, the primary stationary die and the finishing stationarydie of each set respectively having hub supporting seats of the sameshape so providing for the centering in the finishing dies of the blankformed in the primary dies.

2.- In wheel forging apparatus, the combination of sets of primary andfinishing forging dies, respectively, each set including a stationarydie, transfer means between said sets of dies, the primary stationarydie and the finishing stationary die each having hub supporting seats ofthe same shape so providing for the centering in the finishing die ofthe blank formed in the primary die, a central lifting plunger in saidprimary stationary die passing through the bottom hub die and adapted toraise the blank from the primary die.

3. In wheel forging apparatus, the combination of sets of primary andfinishing forging dies, respectively, each set including a stationarydie, transferineans between said sets of dies, the primary stationarydie and the finishing die of said sets of dies respectively each. havinghub supporting seats of the same shape so providing for the centering inthe finishing dies of the blank formed in the primary dies, a centrallifting plunger in the primary dies passing through the bottom hub dieand adapted to raise the blank from the primary dies, and a central hubpiercing plunger in the finishing dies, said plungers both havingtapered upper faces.

4-. in wheel forging apparatus, the combination of sets of primary andfinishing forging dies, respectively, each set including a stationarydie, transfer means between said dies, the primary stationary die andthe finishing stationary die each having hub supporting seats of thesame shape so proriding for the centering in the finishing dies of theblank formed in the primary dies, a central lifting plunger in saidprimary stationary dies passing through the bottom hub die and adaptedto partially pierce the blank in the primary forging operation and toraise the blank from the primary stationary dies after such operationand a central hub piercing head in the finishing stationary die of thesame contour as the first named plunger and adapted to assist incentering the blank in the finishing dies and to completely pierce thehub of the blank.

In wheel forging apparatus, the combination of sets of primary andfinishing forging dies, respectively, each set including a stationarydie, transfer means between said sets of dies, said primary diesincluding a rim forming member provided with an annular rib forming faceand said finishing dies including a die face to receive said annular ribto center and hold the wheel rim during the finishing operation.

(3. In wheel forming apparatus, the combination of sets of primary andfinishing forging dies respectively, each set including a stationarydie, transfer means between said sets of dies, the primary stationarydie and the finishing stationary die each having hub supporting seats ofthe same shape to provide for centering the blank formed in the primarydies in the finishing dies, said primary dies having a rim formingmember provided with an annular rib forming face, and said finishingdies having a face to receive said annular rib and to aid said hubcentering seats in holding the wheel blank centered during the finishingoperation.

7. In wheel forging apparatus, the combination of primary forging diesincluding a stationary bottom die and a reciprocating top die adapted toengage with the blank and bend its edge upwardly, the stationary bottomdie having an annular rim forming recess, and the reciprocating diecarrying an annular edging die acting on the top edge of the blank, incombination with finishing dies having a rim forming die adapted to acton the bowl portion of the blank produced in the primary dies.

8. In wheel forging apparatus, the combination of primary forging diesincluding a stationary bottom die and a reciprocating top die adapted toengage with the blank and bend its edge upwardly, the bottom die havingan annular rim forming recess and the reciprocating die carrying anannular edging die acting on the top edge of the blank, in combinationwith finishing dies having a rim forming die adapted to act on the bowlportion of the blank produced in the primary dies, the edging die of theprimary dies acting only on the inner portion of the blank so as to forman annular rim on the top edge thereof, and the rim forming die of thefinishing dies having a recess at the outer edge of its rim formingface.

In testimony whereof, I the said JOHN M. Han sun, have hereunto set myhand.

JOHN M. HANSEN. Witnesses:

ROBERT C. To'rTnN, JOHN F. WILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G.

